CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank announced on Friday that it has donated $3.2 million (US$25,000) to the Haiti Relief Fund to help the country recover from Hurricane Matthew, which hit the island on October 3, 2016.

Half of the sum, $1.6 million, was donated through Food For The Poor (FFP) Jamaica, which is working to distribute food and other supplies to Haiti. The other half, equivalent to BDS$25,000, was presented to the United Caribbean Trust (UCT) in Barbados to facilitate the purchase and distribution of water filters for the community tanks in the areas hardest hit by the hurricane.

The filters, which will be installed in schools, orphanages, prisons and churches, will give close to 1 million Haitians access to safe drinking water, the bank said.

CIBC FirstCaribbean, Managing Director, Nigel Holness said that the bank was “very concerned for the well-being of our neighbours in Haiti”, in spite of the fact that the bank does not operate in that island.

Speaking at the presentation of the cheque to Food For The Poor Executive Director David Mair, Holness said that FFP and UCT both have a respected history of relief work in Haiti, and that was one of the reasons his bank decided to enter the partnership.

He noted that “clean water, food and shelter are a major priority after a national disaster, and we are proud to do our part in ensuring our Haitian brothers and sisters are provided for”.

“CIBC FirstCaribbean must be applauded for their generosity,” said Mair, noting that the humanitarian response from Jamaica has so far resulted in over seven container shipments of canned food, water, and a host of non-perishable items.

Food For The Poor headquarters in Florida, he said, had shipped multiple amounts of relief items as well, and the organisation’s representatives in Haiti were focused on feeding and providing shelter for displaced Haitians and helping them develop sustainable incomes.